“Conservative, I would say,” said Miuccia Prada backstage after her show in Milan. “Things to wear, not useless inventions.”

This was a dark and excellent collection of Prada classics presented with trademark awkwardness but offset by essentially great product. Increasingly, designers are ensuring their collections for men, instead of tying themselves up in all sorts of trend knots, are focused on clothes a modern man wants/needs, such as a blouson jacket, a spring coat and an easy jumper. Basically, elevated staples, interestingly cut and crafted with imaginative detail that riff on a designer’s signature handwriting.

In Paris, Lanvin similarly delivered a focused wardrobe edit of house signatures.

PINK

Louis Vuitton

Versace opened its show with a dusky pink suit. Marc Jacobs was flamingo a go-go while Kenzo offered macaroon-pink knits. Though frankly nothing was quite as fierce as the brilliant pink jumpsuit delivered by Kim Jones at Louis Vuitton.

The designer’s travels in Rajasthan had apparently led him to Sawai Jai Singh, the king who built Jaipur, India’s pink city. “Pink is the navy of India,” Jones knowingly quipped post-show, quoting legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland.

Pink is not the only shade angling for business next summer either. Brights of orange, red and yellow also had a decent airing.

Menswear collections SS15

Menswear collections SS15

1/6
WARDROBING

2/6
PINK

3/6
DENIM

Saint Laurent

CATWALKING.COM

4/6
THE NEW SLOUCH

Haider Ackermann

CATWALKING.COM

5/6
STAN SMITH STYLE

Raf Simons

CATWALKING.COM

6/6
TOP TO TONAL

JW Anderson

CATWALKING.COM

DENIM

Saint Laurent

The major news at the shows was the resurgence of denim on the catwalk. There were jeans on the runways of Prada, Gucci and Valentino, while AMI offered my chosen pair: faded with frayed deep turn-ups. Dior Homme and Kenzo offered double denim while Burberry cleverly remixed the denim jacket and Yohji Yamamoto layered denim up in head-to-toe looks.

Suddenly, denim is interesting again. Plus, if you’re not ready to pass up a skinny jean, Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent is willingly at your service. This season, for the first time, the designer also showed neat denim jackets – one loaded with studs and sparkles on its reverse looks like a definite hit in the making.

THE NEW SLOUCH

Haider Ackermann

Designers concur that a fluid coat, basically something lightweight with the waft factor, will be big next season. Ditto wider trousers or shorts. Think a loose silhouette.

Reducing the Raf Simons show to a singular trainer is a major disservice — this was not only one the strongest collections this season but one of the most heart-racing fashion shows I’ve ever seen. There was so much to take in, particularly the photo imagery seen on the reverse of coats. But Simons, who wears the classic Stan Smith Adidas trainer himself, also happened to put it on the catwalk during a season when half the men’s fashion pack are also wearing said sneaker.

“It’s kind of like an airport look,” said Jonathan Anderson with a wry smile in his Paris showroom, referring to the knitted jogger sets he sent out at his best menswear offering to date, seen in London. His collection also featured head-to-toe pinstripe and slightly harder to manage Seventies-style diagonal stripes.

Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy also built full looks from a floral design while Christopher Shannon included matching top and short sets. Craig Green, currently London’s buzz name, created a collection that revolved around outfits of just one tone — black, navy, denim, white or a glorious sky blue. It felt entirely refreshing and modern.